“Keep your expectations of life positive. Strive to live with unceasing happiness. Let not your possessions possess you, nor the petty details of worldly life invade with hordes of worry the stillness of your heart. Gain strength to rise above distraction by sipping frequently the nectar of inner peace, given you lovingly by angel hands as you grow silently toward Self-realization”

Oo- lots of good stuff here! What a great paragraph to round out the discussion of this book.

So, like many cliches, we have heard “stay positive” since we were in grammer school and so it can glaze right over us instead of reminding us to truly, trulyexpect good things to happen.

Call it The Law Of Attraction, praying, good energy, mucho mojo, angels on your shoulder or whatever… when you step out into the world with a cheerful heart, big ol’ smile and- good things happen. Right? You catch all green lights. Meet someone cute at the coffee shop. Get a card in the mail from your mom. Find $100 in your pocket. Life becomes an exciting adventure of guessing what wonderful person, place or thing will happen next.

You know it’s true.

The problem is that somewhere along the way we got our heart broken. And it really hurt. And now dreaming isn’t so much fun anymore. The fear of being disappointed is too heavy a wager for our fragile hearts.

Bah. We need to stop being weenies is what we need to do. We have everything to gain and no time to lose! We won’t live forever and we can’t take it with us, so why not expect the best? It’s much more fun than brooding about the inequalities of life, anyway. Boooor-ing.

So why not take a chance on something? Expect the best, with a smile on your face and metaphorical crown on your head. Be happy. Be so happy your cheeks hurt. Decide. Decide. Change your mind. And if you find yourself grouchy again in an hour (which never happens to me) decide to change your mind again.

Work it out, like a muscle. One, and two, and three… So on.

Enjoy the ride. That’s what I get from this whole book. Lean back, smile and open your eyes through this life adventure. There are enough quotes out there confirming that happiness is not a destination. It’s the way.

Don’t worry. And BE HAPPY.

This was fun. Thanks so much for reading. I’m planning another book club video series next week, so I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below, or tweet me.

Howdy again, today we are digging into Part 4 of the 5 part video series and book club. Every day, I present you a new paragraph from the book I’m sharing. This week it is Paramhansa Yogananda’s book, How to Be Happy All the Time (Wisdom of Yogananda) (v. 1). Here is the fourth of the five paragraphs that I choose to share.

“Never dwell on the thoughts of your shortcomings. Recall instead, the memory of the good things you have done, and of the goodness that exists in the world. Convince yourself of your own innate perfection. Thus you will find yourself drawn to remember your eternal nature as a child of God.“

Yesss. I especially love the lines I’ve bolded above. To think of myself as a child of God, not as a metaphor, but as a birthright that cannot be denied, makes my posture better. Don’t you feel that? That little flame flicker in your heart that squeals with the thought of your divinity. God, I love that feeling. It feels right in my bones.

So brush your shoulders off. Don’t think about anything that doesn’t make you feel good. Change the channel. Move on, up and away to thinking about things that make you smile.

We can feel good or we can feel bad. We can focus on what’s not right about ourselves or settle in to our perfect God-given endowments. The One who made the heavens and the earth, also made you and me.

And God doesn’t make junk. Ya know?

So. How do you convince yourself of your own innate perfection? Let me me know in the comments below, or tweet me. I love talking about this stuff.

Hey Y’all- thanks for checking out Part 3 of the 5 part video series and book club. Every day, I present you a new paragraph from the book I’m sharing. This week it is Paramhansa Yogananda’s book, How to Be Happy All the Time (Wisdom of Yogananda) (v. 1). Here is the third of the five paragraphs that I choose to share.

“When you see the gloom of hopelessness, shoot it at once with hope-awakening smiles. Do not form the sorrowing, but the habit of smiling. Make yourself adament against taking offense, and freely forgive and forget those who offend you. Never get angry. Never allow yourself to become the victim of someone’s anger. Do your best to overcome difficulties, but smile first, last and all the time. There is no better panacea for sorrow, no better reviving tonic than smiles. There is no greater power with which to overcome failure than a real smile. There is no better ornament than a genuine smile. There is no beauty greater than the smile of peace and wisdom glowing on your face.”

Yay! I’m good at smiling- and it’s fun too! And isn’t it awesome when you see a friend and they have a big “Hey You!” smile on their face? It makes you feel special- like all is right with the world.

I almost always insist that people smile in the pictures that I take of them. “Everyone looks better when they smile.”, I say. I believe that to be true. And I smile as I say it.

I love that smiles transcend language, age, gender and even species. (My dog, Samson loves it when I smile) It’s one of those things that everyone has to give, even if we don’t share it as often as we should. Most of the time they are contagious and we feel like a champ for the feel-good interaction. Sometimes, it falls flat. And “they” don’t smile back. Ouch. But as the old saying goes… if someone doesn’t have a smile, give them one of yours. Here ya go, Buddy!

Smiles are endless, free and yet priceless. The more you give, the more you get. It’s like a happy boomerang that makes everyone better looking.

And if we can change our emotions by changing our physical actions (and there’s lots of studies that prove that to be true) then it behooves us to smile incessantly, right? Like all the time. Even when we’re not “feeling it”, because sooner or later, we will.

Seriously. Have you ever had to smile in public when were unhappy? It’s hard to stay unhappy. You’re bound to lock eyes with someone and then they smile back (off your somewhat forced smile) and then you really smile… and then your’re really happy. And round and round it goes.

So… what about you? Are you the first and last to smile? What little miracles happen when you flash that million dollar smile around? Let me know in the comments below, or tweet me. I love talking about this stuff.

“In order to be kind, it is not always necessary to agree about everything. If you disagree, always remain calm and courteous. It is human weakness to get andry and scold, but it is divine strength to hold the reigns of your temper and speech. No matter what provokes you, behave yourself. By calm silence or by genuine kinds words, show that your kindness is more powerful than the other person’s ugliness. Before the mellow light of your forgiveness, all the gathered hatred of your enemies will melt away.”

Oo. Behave yourself. We used to hear that phrase often as children and less as we are adults, but the simplicity of the message transcends age. Control your emotions. There are always reasons to “repay evil with evil”, and sometimes… they are even justified reasons.

But what happens to our body in the process? How attractive is a scowl? Are you going to diffuse the situation with a smile or make everyone in the room feel weird? What could we be focusing on instead of thinking about this bozo?

I gotta be honest, sometimes it feels good to tell someone whats what. Ha! So maybe I’m not fully evolved yet, eh? Well… I just think some people need a little tough love every now and then. (Oh geez, I’m my dad.) Okay, so since I’m not great at this, I’m better at walking away. Saying something genuinely nice (and not sarcastically nice) in return? Uhh. I don’t think I’m there yet. Can I blame Latina blood?

Eh. I’ll work on it.

What about you? Can you be like a duck and just let it roll off? Let me know how you keep your cool in your daily life in the comments below, or tweet me. I love talking about this stuff.

I love books. If someone were to call me a bookworm, I would take it as a compliment. One of my favorite things about books is sharing them with my friends and family. And so it is with that thought in mind that I begin a weekly video series that I am unofficially calling Jen’s Book Club. (Hey, it works for Oprah.)

“Don’t wait for yourself, your family, or your surroundings to change before you can be happy within yourself. Make up your mind to be happy within yourself, right now, whatever you are, or wherever you are.”

I think a lot of us think “I’ll be happy when…” When I get the job, the kids, the car, the husband… you know how it is. I like this excerpt reminding us that happiness is a state of mind, therefore, we don’t have to put it off one second longer. Just make up your mind to be happy. Poof.

It’s simple, but is it easy? Let me know how you keep a happiness perspective in your daily life in the comments below, or tweet me.

Video is gaining in momentum, technology and popularity. Now is the time for businesses, brand and artists to make sure they have video sources online. Video is no easy task, but it can be done quickly and efficiently if you have the right video production team helping you. If you need help, contact me here.

VIDEO FACTS:
Video results appear in about 70% of the top 100 listings, the type of content most often displayed in universal or blended search results. (Marketingweek, 2011)

With proper optimization, video increases the chance of a front-page Google result by 53x. (Forrester, January 2010)

Video traffic on mobile networks rose 10 percentage points over a one-year period and is now 50% of on traffic on wireless networks. (ByteMobile, 2012)

93% of smartphone users use their devices in the home, and almost 50% of users watch videos on their smartphones. 90% of smartphone searches result in an action such as a purchase or a visit to a business. (Google Blog, April 2011)

The majority of QR code scans are to access product information, and 25% of QR code scansare to access video content. (Loyalty360, 2011)

Affluent consumers prefer video and search to other digital advertising formats, as 41% of affluent online shoppers reported to eMarketer that they took an action after seeing one of these two ad formats. (eMarketer, August 2011)

Post navigation

) Oh how I love to travel. One of the tricky parts of travel, however, is staying organized. From the moment you book your airfare to the meetings, dinners, parties and everything in between- it can be a bear to keep track of it all. What’s a traveler to do? In steps TripCase. In the [...]

Do you want to raise some money for a great cause? Don your finest pink and green this March 14 at The Underground Chicago in support of A Silver Lining Foundation! WHAT: 1st Annual Pink and Green Pre-Spring Fling WHEN: Saturday, March 14, 2014 from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM WHERE: The Underground Chicago, 56 [...]

Check out my interview with buddy Beth Santos of Travel Go Girl. The Women In Travel Summit is coming up in Chicago March 14-16, 2014 at Palmer House Hilton Hotel. Let me know in the comments below… where would you LOVE to travel next?! GET SOCIAL: Like Travel Go Girl on facebook: www.facebook.com/travelgogirl Tweet Travel Go Girl at @travelgogirl Tweet me […]

Ahh, Valentine’s Day. So few people even know how this day came about (it’s super convoluted) but we have all come to understand the expectations involved. It’s can be a test for couples (especially men) and a time of heightened awareness for singles. As a single person, myself, I’m pretty cool with it. Sure it [...]

I love veterans. In addition to my gratitude for their service to me and this great country, I am always in awe of their honor and familyhood. I was asked to grab interviews at V-SPANN’s inaugural television event. Here are some of those interviews.